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Feathertail Ray

Ray · Vulnerable

Feathertail Ray

Pastinachus sephen

About

The cowtail stingray is a member of the family Dasyatidae, widespread across the Indo-Pacific and known to venture into fresh water on occasion. It carries many other names, including banana-tail ray, drab stingray, fantail ray, feathertail stingray, and frill tailed sting ray, and is sometimes assigned to the genus Dasyatis or Hypolophus. Its standout feature is the large, flag-like fold of skin beneath the tail, which is most obvious as the ray swims.

Family
Dasyatidae
Avg size
180-200 cm
Habitat
The cowtail stingray is widely distributed through the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific, from South Africa and the Red Sea to Japan and Australia, including Melanesia and Micronesia. Being amphidromous, it readily enters estuaries and rivers, and it is the most frequently reported freshwater stingray in Southeast Asia, with one record from the Ganges some 2,200 km (1,400 mi) inland. It usually keeps to sandy bottoms in coastal waters and on coral reefs down to about 60 m (200 ft).
Behaviour
Cowtail stingrays forage alone, feeding on bony fish (including leiognathids, Nemipterus, and soles), crustaceans, polychaete worms, sipunculids, and molluscs. They themselves fall prey to various hammerhead and requiem sharks and to the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus). When threatened, they reliably flee at a 45-degree angle away from the predator, a path that covers the most distance while keeping the threat in view.

Where & when

Where & When to See It

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